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TRIP REPORT: Polishing Silver – A snow-laden pit stop at JFK and the American Airlines/British Airways Greenwich Lounge

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A snow-laden pit stop at JFK and the American Airlines/British Airways Greenwich Lounge
Polishing Silver

Welcome to New York JFK. It’s cold and about to snow. So what do we do? Head to the lounge… there’s a delay to wait out before I board the snowbird to London. 

San Francisco Trip Report "Polishing Silver" Trip Report

In this Tier Point-laden adventure

Getting off the A321, went into autopilot mode – and started to make tracks for a lounge. With British Airways moving into JFK Terminal 8, things have changed a little – with more shared facilities.

Even though I’m flying American Airlines on this next segment.

a woman pulling luggage down a hallway
Up the jetbridge

people walking in a terminal
Into the sleeping satellite. 

people walking in a terminal
To the main terminal

a sign in a building
The airport that never sleeps.

More importantly, there’s no need to exit security and reclear security – it’s a straight gate-to-gate transfer.

Whilst I’m on an American Airlines flight, I appreciate this – When transiting between AA and BA in the past via Terminal 7, (British Airways home(, it was becoming more of a pain with each transfer in the past, adding extra time to reclaim bags, take the train, re-clear security… and so on.

It was a hot mess then with no airside connections. This is a lot easier.

I headed out of the satellite terminal, and under the taxiway, to pop out near the glitzy Boeing 777.

a group of people in a building a model of an airplane in a building  a model of an airplane in a building
a sign on a glass door
“From New York to the World”, Not Bling my Ride.

Lounges at New York JFK T8 depend on status and ticket. Because of course, it does.

  • The Chelsea Lounge (First Class for AA and BA)
  • The Greenwich Lounge (Business ClassBusiness Class/First Class/oneworld Sapphire and Emerald
  • The Soho Lounge – First Class/Emerald Lounge for Oneworld Airlines.
  • American Airlines Admirals Club in the Satellite Concourse

The BA version is here, whilst the AA version is here.

They love to make access guidelines complex for no reason, don’t they?

In all honesty – and mostly by luck – I ended up at the Greenwich Lounge. Whilst I appreciate the different lounges, sometimes having a little guide in the ticket voucher, or even a printed card saying “Which lounge am I entitled to go to” would be helpful – without me resorting to the phone to hunt for the information when I’m travelling.

a building with a sign on the wall

The Greenwich Lounge

a elevator with signs and a person standing in front of them a sign on a wall

I remember this lounge from previous visits – it seems to have had a light refresh since I was here last – this was the American Airlines lounge in the past. As it’s had a light refresh some of the dining options have changed, but it seems to be the high-quality Admirals Club it was in the past.

a man walking with luggage in a hallway

And this was one nicer one, as it handled international traffic.

a group of people sitting around tables in a large room a group of people sitting in a lounge area a room with chairs and tables a group of people in a room with chairs and tables

I wandered around the lounge, finding a window to park at.

 

With that, It was time to explore the food and beverage situation.

This again is an international lounge (or at least a lounge that is more restricted), the offerings were excellent, with a selection of cold and hot items – and in good-sized portions too.

a counter with bowls of food on it

a group of bowls of food on a counter
Breads and butter

a buffet line of food
Cruets 

a table with food on it
Cold cuts and cheese

a table with bowls of food
Cold items
a wooden shelf with food on it
Seeds make everything better

a bowl of rice with spoons
Rice

a man standing behind a counter with food in pots

a pans with food in it on a counter
Chicken and Salmon 

a trays of cookies and coffee cups on a counter
Cookies and Brownies – something that American Airlines always seems to do well.

a group of pots on a counter
Soup

There’s no formal pre-flight dining (as there was in the BA Lounge before in Terminal 7), although given that food was refreshed regularly, I don’t see it too much as a loss, as there is proper catering in-suit.

There used to be a tasting room in this lounge – however, this has been axed in favour of a brewery and a bar, whilst adding further seating space.

a man standing at a counter in a bar a room with chairs and tables a group of chairs and tables in a room

That’s no bad thing – this lounge being the entry-level one is going to be busy – like it or not, thus having the extra space is welcome – even it was quietening down as the evening went on, given that it caters to most of the oneworld airlines

In this area, there were two bars, as well as a light snack food station.

a coffee machine and a dispenser a buffet with bowls of food a buffet table with food on it food on the counter in a restaurant a table with food and drinks on it a buffet table with food on it a trays of cookies and pastries on a counter

However, the warning I had on my phone was starting to come true – snow had started falling at JFK.

an airport with airplanes on the ground an airport with airplanes on the ground an airport with airplanes on it

Whilst not the greatest snow dump on the planet, it was enough to start disrupting operations – with my flight impacted and it posting a 45-minute delay.

a glass of champagne with a lemon wedge in it
I’d better get settled in. 

Wonderful. It’s not the end of the world regarding delays, but enough to be a pain, as I did have a connection at Heathrow airport – and a chained flight on top of that.

So, whilst I had time built into the connection, I was not in the mood to play “run across Heathrow as fast as I physically could” when I landed, or even attempting to skip-lag a segment.

people sitting at a bar
Champagne bar

jars of food on a table
Cruets and bar snacks 

an airplane at an airport
Keeping an eye on my snowbird. 

Thankfully, the lounge was calling international flights, and eventually, our flight to Heathrow was called with Gate 12 being used to embark the passengers.

I took my leave of the lounge – as I didn’t want to miss this last flight out of JFK to old London town.

people in a terminal with people walking a store with a lot of goods people in a terminal

Heading downstairs on the elevator, I popped out pretty much opposite the gate, with only a short walk.

Boarding was in full progress by the time I got down, so I slipped into the premium queue, where the queue was being processed.

a group of people standing in front of a door

a woman with a backpack in an airport

I used the facial recognition machine to board the aircraft and exit the United States of America. There was no need to scan my boarding pass – it seemed the biometric data was already in the system

With that, it was time to head down the jetway and down to the plane.

It was time for a transatlantic nap

Next:

AA104. New York JFK to London Heathrow – Oooh. Time to de-ice.

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